Louis Frankopan; Chess master, fond friend and incredible mentor.

I have been very lucky to know a great mentor. This post is in homage to him.

I met Prince Louis Nicholas Anthony Doimi de Frankopan Subic, Count de Lupis Radossio de Tolentis, in 2012 and we have been firm friends ever since. Even though he has moved on to a better place he shall live on in my memory for ever. His name shall not be lost in time.

When I first met the Prince at Hurlingham, I had no idea of his special status. I just knew him as Louis Frankopan. I always called him Louis. I only found out a year later what his title was, as other people told me. He only ever treated me with kindness and respect even though we were from different generations. He was 80 years old and I was 24.

am very sad that my dear friend Prince

Louis Frankopan was very modest. In the photo he is wearing jeans which was the sort of clothes he loved . He was a very practical sort of person. Initially our special bond was the fact that we both played chess. Six years ago we played our first chess game, and he crushed me. Yet this was the man who drew against Kasparov in the 1980s . When I knew Prince Louis Frankopan, he was a very kind and patient man. I was very proud of knowing this great and wise man.

During the summers I would be in Spain and he, in Croatia. When we returned to England and met in the Polo bar he would say " have you missed me" I would reply that my holiday was now just getting started. He had a great laugh when I told him my family thought I had an imaginary friend, as he sounded to good to be true. So that is why I have the photograph of him at the top this article, as evidence that he did exist. He will continue to exist through my memories and every time I play chess I shall think of him fondly.

I have many special memories thanks to Louis Frankopan.

He only called me Alex after the first three years of us getting to know each other. Before that he would always call me Nigel ! . I remember one Christmass in the club when we were playing chess and he got free three mince pies. Yum Yum

He was defiantly the king of Hurlingham he was what I call one of the old boys at the club. I thought I would only ever read about Princes in books yet when one meets one in the flesh the novelty never really wears off. We were kindred spirits like old Labradors. We loved talking about heretics I think in another life he would have been a great heretic. I think he enjoyed my company because I did not pander to him. My Aspergers meant I treated him as like any other normal human which I think he liked. I was never scared to let him know what I was thinking. We both had the same sense of humour so it made our friendship rather effortless.

All of the ancestors of the Frankopan family were educated in Venice or Bologne. Never in Croatia because of the Italy link they could choose the best universties. Some of his ancestors were educated by the church and became envoys or Bishops. The word Frankopan means raising bread in Latin. One time when we were playing chess he told me confidentially that his family were part of the order of the Dragon. That means that his family were the last line of defence against the Turkish invasion. That also implies that they were allies with a certain Vlad the Impalar . Overall I found Count's Frankopans personal life and history fascinating. He would give me projects to research on certain parts of his family history.

He had travelled a lot in his eighty years in his life, he told me he called it globe trotting. He would spend his summers rulling from his castle in Croatia which was on the coast. He loved the coastline of Croatia. His family did have to flee from Croatia when the Iron Curtain came into being. He escaped whilst hidden on a cart. He got offered a scholarship into Oxford. Which he completed with a first class honours then he went into banking he got his first job in banking in Africa Kenya .

The head barman is from Italy and is part of the same mafie family that Louis family is from in Italy. I always felt completely at ease with the Prince Frankopan we always called each other by our first names which is a sign of respect as we our from the same Catholic background. While other members in the club would say your Royal Highness towards him. I only ever called him your Royal Highness once and he asked me to call him Louis afterwards.

I think that when he retired from banking which was his profession he ended spending a lot of time in his club. By chance I happened to be in the polo bar carrying a chess set and he was with his Frankopans and his eyes peaked with interest as he saw me carrying the chess. "Would you want a chess game young Nigel " I accepted and lost three in a row.

As I gradually got to know my Prince a bit better over the years he took my underneath his wing . I learnt more history of the world and a lot about people and chess. When we were playing chess as a retired chess master he taught me everything that he knew. His main peace of advice was to pause and think.

Louis Frankopan was a character and a half. I had a feeling that if anyone would have been related to Count Dracula it would have been Louis Frankopan. I remember one evening as we were driving home he would be singing out load "I just want to drink your human blood' We got the odd weird look for some reason that is beyond me.

I would look forward to our weekly chess meeting at the club it would give me added purpose to travel to the club. In the early years of our friendship we would mostly remain silent as my speech was not so great. However, he would give me small drops of information about his past and his family. I was a good chess student as I think he did not suffer fools gladly. He did not need to teach me chess. It was a privalage to such a insight in this great man's mind. He got a first class honours degree at Oxford uni in Jesuit college which is one of the oldest colleges in Oxford.

Occasionally he would let me win a chess game, when I was a young lad and Prince Frankopan and I would play chess in the afternoon from three till 6 in the evening. We would play 7 chess games in a row most afternoons. After a while I was able to play him at his own game I realised that I only needed to survive the first few moves which not that many people did.

Once that stage of the game was completed I could concentrate my mind on a counter attack and repulse his moves. Sometimes I would even win one out of every three games. Even towards the end of our time I was getting stronger mentally and was able to win even more. Although if a played a single wrong move he would punish me mercilessly on the chess board. One of his favourite sayings "just because I look old you must not underestimate me" with that in mind I became a better chess player. Never underestimate your opponent.

It was a unique privalage to have known this Prince of Croatia he was my everything in life. My father was often away and I never knew my grandfather on my fathers side. Prince Frankopan was like a grandfather figure for me in my mind. One day we were playing chess in the conservatory in the club and a friendly American lady walked in and asked if we were related. That bought a smile to Louis face and he said yes !! that made my day as it meant it was not just in my mind that we had a special bond yet he thought he had one with me. Am a extremely lucky devil to have known this Prince among men.

In the year 1855 The Frankopan family were knighted by Emperor Frank Joseph 1 they became knights of the Holy Roman Empire. They also became nationally acclaimed Princes of Croatia and Counts of Croatia for helping the Hapsburgs rise to power in Austria. My favourite fact about Louis Frankopan was that he always had time for me I think that he thought of me as part of his family. I think that part of the great mans personality rubbed off on me. I shall always have a part of Louis Frankopan within me and he shall live on for a eternity within me. I have a saying that one dies once in the flesh then they dye again when they are no longer remembered.

My friend Prince Louis Frankopan of Croatia was born in 1939 and he died in 2018. For me he was a mentor and a close friend that I would play chess with twice a week every week. When one meet up with a person like that on a regular occasion it becomes normal. One of his favourite topics were the Crusades. His family originated from Italy and served the Vatican like my family did. His family helped support the Hapsburgs in power. He had very close links with the Church. Some of his ancestors were leading figures in the church.

I also became his historian on a project as well which was to research one of his ancestors. A Bishop Tolentis which was part of the Vatican. I found the research fascinating I would go to the London library to do some digging on this particular ancestor. It was always a dream of mine to be a historian to a Royal Prince and a best friend. It felt like that at the age of twenty four he had given me my dream occupation.

In conclusion, when a close friend like this sails into the horizon death is only the beginning. I believe that he is now looking down at me and keeping an eye out for me, and I shall celebrate our friendship now and always.